Performed and recorded live at Phoenix Central Park, Sydney, Australia, The Fall by Genesis Owusu, brings to life a deeply personal conversation which, in the process, acquires a universality in its reach and the experience it presents to the audience. In a world where conversation around race and identity gains increasing relevance every day, the stunning music video invokes a discussion on the ideas of oppressive spaces, both within and without. 

We are hurled headlong into a realm that is marked by a protagonist who is held captive by tightly wound ropes. However, amidst the struggle to break free, his voice remains loud and clear, a gleeful, near-delirious grin never leaving his face. It is indeed in this visual that the narrative lays bare its primary thematic concern. It is also in this manner that the personal becomes political, allowing the vocals and the visuals to work in tandem with each other, rather than one triumphing or overpowering the other. 

 The video is especially notable for how it exhibits the creative range of Versus, evident in their usage of the same physical space as seen in a previous video ('Refracted' by Gordi), transforming it to tell a story completely different in texture and the intentions it communicates to the viewer. Consequently, while microphones, architecture, the overwhelming nature of art - all of them find an echo in the claustrophobic cornices, again, both physical and mental, the words "Get your hands off my mind...I cant breathe now", stay with you long after you're done interacting with 'The Fall'.

The Fall | Short Film of the Day

It is at the intersection of emotional lines and the literal geometry of physical architecture that 'Refracted' is born. Gordi (Sophie Payten)'s haunting vocals are coupled with symmetrical structures that allow their intimacy, marked by a disconcerting beauty, to find visual representation. Lights and shadows are employed to suggest different levels of intensity, along with a whole spectrum of emotions getting echoed in the lyrics. 

 The music is equipped with an elemental incandescence that ensures that the final product works on multiple levels. Combining two of Gordi's creations - Extraordinary Life and Volcanic, as they are performed within the walls of the Phoenix Central Park in Sydney, Australia, the music video acquires a separate existence of its own. Its seamless, sophisticated visuals become the protagonist in themselves, alongside Gordi's spectral presence on screen. 

Additionally, both the performer and the performance, only serve to complement and enhance one another. On the whole, the final result comes to be marked by a powerful otherworldly quality that further ties together the various elements in an elegant, notable and skilled manner.

Refracted | Short Film of the Month

A solitary figure stands in a vast empty space, as if painting a metaphor of entrapment within the confinements of her own mind. The visual soon gives way to the eponymous refrain of the song. She is no longer alone, but her companions simply serve as images of violence, force and aggression. As the vocals echoing “do it again” are united with contrasting negative ideas, both in words and imagery, the song's core underpinnings come into existence.The overlap of desire and want, with their rejection and the pursuit of seeking freedom from them, is further conjured for the viewer and the listener. The complementary elements of the audio as well as the visual progression ensure that the predominant motivations of the end result, performed most seamlessly by the powerhouse of talent A.Girl, are shared in a skilled, sophisticated manner. The song, and the emotions it harbours within, are capable of leaving a lasting, resounding effect on the audience, along with presenting a highly intimate, personal conflict of the protagonist.

Do It Again | Short Film of the Day

Eschewing hackneyed visuals that might often accompany noise-rock, ‘Macca the Mutt’ presents to you a world of its own. Complete with a characteristic grittiness and unmissable texture, the music video stands firmly on its two feet. The uniqueness of tonality and approach are the main factors allowing the visuals to succeed in this manner. 

With Party Dozen's Kirsty Tickle on the saxophone and Jonathan Boulet on percussion, the video conjures distortions and vocal modifications to present its reality to you. While at first glance one might expect a steam-punk aesthetic, the expectation is soon foiled as the video progresses. This is further coupled with musician and singer Nick Cave’s repeated refrain at the end, also marking an exception to the famously reclusive pattern of the artist when it comes to collaboration with other artists and musicians. 

In a song that is devoid of all lyrics, save for the refrain, the thematic motivations and their interpretations are the responsibility more of the audience than the creators themselves. However, the video still presents a sense of mundane, futile cyclicality of life, an allusion to a working-class existence and that of manual labor, which is immediately tied with the disruptive sense of discomfort that the song weaves in. 

Since the video is very genre-specific, it is not for everyone. And yet, what you make of it is your prerogative entirely, as the vocals and the emotions behind them get reflected in the visual narrative before you.

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